Julian Whitaker, MD, is the founder and editor of the largest read health newsletter in the world, Health & Healing. This month his lead topic is MILK and the Dairy Education Board. Here are pages 1-4 of Dr. Whitaker's 8-page newsletter. I heartily recommend that you consider subscribing. Whitaker's alternative medicine advice is right on the money and 532,000+ monthly readers have benefited from his brilliant recommendations. Call 1-800-539-8219 to subscribe! (12 issues - $39.95 per year)

(REPRINTED: PERMISSION OF JULIAN WHITAKER, MD)

Dr. Julian Whitaker's

Health&Healing

TOMORROW'S MEDICINE TODAY

October 1998 Vol. 8, No. 10

Dear Reader,

In the movie Men in Black, the character played by Tommy Lee Jones draws the distinction between a "person" and the mass of "people." He states, "A person is smart, but people are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals, and you know it." In other words, we do a whole lot of things as "people" we would never do as "persons."

Health & Healing readers are "persons." You are making the effort to educate youself, refusing to buy the prepackaged party line dished out by the conventional medical establishment and media. You think for yourself and take control of your own health. Yet there are some areas that are so ingrained that we all revert to "people" thinking. Let's discuss one of them in this first story.

FOOD SAFETY

MILK IS "UDDER" NONSENSE

Is cow's milk an appropriate food for humans? The "people" answer is "of course," but the "person" answer is "no, it is not good for humans." Cow's milk is species-specific food for calves. It is no more appropriate to drink the milk of cows than it is to drink the milk of other mammals. We do it because we've always done it. It's a "people" thing, and on close inspection, you'll see that all our beliefs about milk are "udder" nonsense.

Milk Myth #1: Milk Helps Build Strong Bones

American parents pass this myth on to their children, and misguided nutritionists reinforce it. Actually, milk and other dairy products weaken the bones and accelerate osteoporosis. That's right, consumption of milk causes the very condition it's advertised to prevent.

As I'll explain in the next story, osteoporosis results from calcium loss, not insufficient calcium intake. And dairy products, because of their high protein content, promote calcium loss. Studies examining the incidence of osteoporosis have found that high consumption of dairy products is associated with high rates of osteoporosis. If you want strong bones, don't drink milk.

Milk Myth #2: Milk is the Ultimate Health Drink

The notion that milk is healthy for you is, again, "udder" nonsense. While eating fruits, vegetables and whole grains has been documented to lower the risk of heart attack, high blood pressure and cancer, the widely touted health benefits of dairy products are questionable at best. In fact, dairy products are clearly liked as a cause of osteoporosis, heart disease, obesity, cancer, allergies and diabetes. Dairy products are anything but "health" foods.

The association with heart disease is particularly strong. While we've always known that high-fat dairy products, such as whole milk and cheese, are significant contributors to high cholesterol levels and heart disease, William B. Grant, Ph.D., summarizes the mounting evidence that nonfat milk is also a major player in bringing on heart disease. Writing in Alternative Medicine Review, Dr. Grant points out that nonfat milk, which contains substantial amounts of dairy protein, is very low in B vitamins. The metabolism of all this protein in the absence of B vitamins contributes to the buildup of homocysteine, a marker for heart disease.

Milk Myth #3: Milk is Necessary for Growing Children

Oh really? Here are three reasons kids and milk don't mix. First, milk is the leading cause of iron-deficiency anemia in infants, and, in fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics now discourages giving children milk before their first birthday. Second, it has been shown that milk consumption in childhood contributes to the development of Type-I diabetes. Certain proteins in milk resemble molecules on the beta cells of the pancreas that secrete insulin. In some cases, the immune system makes antibodies to the milk protein that mistakenly attack and destroy the beta cells.

Third, milk allergies are very common in children and cause sinus problems, diarrhea, constipation and fatigue. They are a leading cause of the chronic ear infections that plague up to 40% of all children under the age of six. Milk allergies are also linked to behavior problems in children and to the disturbing rise of childhood asthma. (Milk allergies are equally common in adults and produce similar symptoms.) Even so august an authority on children as the late Dr. Benjamin Spock changed his recommendations in his later years and discouraged giving children milk.

MILK MYTH #4: Milk is Pure and Wholesome

As if milk weren't bad enough already, the chemical giant, Monsanto Company, and the FDA have made it far worse. In 1994 the FDA approved the use of recombinant bovine somatotropin (rbST), a genetically engineered hormone from Monsanto that increases milk production in cows by 10-25%. Milk from cows treated with rbST contains elevated levels of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), one of the most powerful growth factors ever identified.

IGF-I occurs naturally in both cows and humans and, in a fluke of nature, is identical between these two species. While IGF-I doesn't cause cancer, it definitely stimulates its growth. Recent studies have found a seven-fold increase in the risk of breast cancer in women with the highest IGF-I levels, and a four-fold increase in prostate cancer in men with the highest levels. Not only does rbST elevate your exposure to these growth factors, it also increases infections of the cow's udders. Therefore, cows treated with rbST are given more antibiotics, so higher traces of these drugs, as well as pus and bacteria from infected udders, are found in their milk.

In his recent book, MILK - The Deadly Poison (Argus Publishing, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1998), Robert Cohen, a tenacious investigative reporter, describes a level of corruption between Monsanto, the FDA and the Department of Agriculture that, in my opinion, warrants formal investigation and action against several individuals involved. This book documents how data were falsified and studies fabricated, and tells how the scientific community and public have been misled regarding rbST, its effects on our health, and the amounts of this hormone present in milk. Folks, you won't believe this book. Robert Cohen gives names, dates and document numbers that are irrefutable.

As you would expect, Monsanto is playing rough. In Florida, they put pressure on a FOX television station, which then fired two award-winning journalists with over 20 years experience for attempting to report on the dark side of bovine growth hormone. These two reporters are now suing the network. Monsanto has vigorously attacked those who simply want to label their dairy product as "hormone free." This whole mess is disgusting. It shouldn't surprise you that all of Europe and Canada have banned this hormone and we are the only major industrial country espousing and using it. To get a copy of the June/July 1998 issue of SunCoast Eco report, in which this story is reported, send a check for $3 to Editor-SunCoast Eco Report, P.O. Box 35500, Sarasota, FL, 34278. If you have access to the Internet, for more information on the suit, go to www.foxBGHsuit.com.

A few months ago I joined Robert Cohen as a board member of his newly formed Dairy Education Board. I strongly recommend that you get more information on the dangers of dairy products by reading Cohen's book, available from the Dairy Education Board, 1-888-NOTMILK (888-668-6455).

That, my friends, represents half of the October Health & Healing digest. Dr. Whitaker dedicates the remainder of this issue of his newsletter to osteoporosis and heart disease. I would like to quote just a portion of Whitaker's comments about bone disease:

"In only two generations, the rate of hip fractures in the U.S. has quadrupled, and it is currently one of the highest rates in the world. Americans are also near the top of the chart for dairy consumption. Would someone out there please tell me why we keep telling our children that dairy foods strengthen their bones? Excess protein intake-not only from milk but all animal protein sources-increases the need for calcium to neutralize acidic protein breakdown products, destroying bone in the process. A lifetime of a high-protein diet usually eats away at your bones. Lower protein vegetarian diets are associated with significantly higher bone mineral density. So the first and most important dietary step is to eat less protein. This generally means cutting down on milk...Although dairy products contain calcium, little of it is deposited in the bones-instead the calcium is used to neutralize the acidity brought on by milk protein."

I conclude today's column by echoing the advertising slogan of the national fluid processors, the marketing arm of America's dairy industry: